One of the cops thought the other officer was about to rob a pharmacy
A PAIR of Brazilian police officers are lucky to be alive after a misunderstanding led to them blasting each other with gunfire at close range.
In a frightening case of mistaken identity, a civilian police officer mistook a military policeman for a robber and both ended up in a terrifying gunfight on Wednesday afternoon in a store in Fortaleza, north east Brazil.
Civilian cop Olívio Gabriel Torres, who works as a crime investigator, was hit in the face and military police officer, Edilson Barreto da Silva, who patrols the streets, suffered bullet wounds to his thigh and abdomen.
Security cameras in the pharmacy show Silva, who was off-duty at the time, standing at the counter as he prepares to pay for medication. Both men are in plain clothes.
According to witnesses, Torres was walking past the store when he noticed Silva was armed and 'seemed to be acting suspiciously'.
Moments later security cameras record Torres entering, pulling his gun and striding up as he points his revolver at Silva’s back.
The horrific encounter sees Silva reacting with surprise as the detective approaches from behind and orders him to 'lift up his t-shirt'.
Silva tries to grab his gun from his waistband as Torres pushes him and starts to shoot.
The military cop retaliates and they gun each other down in a hail of bullets.
Witnesses said at least 10 bullets were fired, many hitting walls on buildings opposite the pharmacy.
No one else was injured during the incident. Staff in the pharmacy were said to be in a state of shock and cowered behind the counters.
In the struggle, the officers fall to the ground as they continue the firefight. Silva was shot in the thigh suffering a severed femoral vein and a wound to his abdomen. Torres was injured in his face.
A witness who declined to be identified said: "Even though the man was shouting that he is a military police, the civilian police officer kept shooting and held the other man down on the ground.
"I was standing nearby and I couldn’t understand why this had happened. It was terrifying."
Security guards from nearby stores are said to have rushed to the scene and taken the guns from the men.
According to Inspector Romerio Almeida, one of the officers was inside the pharmacy buying medicines when the other came in.
He said: "Military police officer Silva was in civilian clothes, but with the gun in his waistband.
"Civil police officer Torres, who was also in plain clothes, found his actions suspicious and thought he was trying to rob the shop
"It appears to have been a regrettable misunderstanding as they both exchanged gunfire which resulted in severe injuries."
In a statement, the Department of Public Security and Social Defence said the incident was under investigation.
A spokesperson said: "The circumstances surrounding the exchange of gunfire between civilian police and military police are being investigated. Initial inquiries points to a misinterpretation involving the two security officers who were in plain clothes."
Both men were taken to the Dr. José Frota Institute Hospital where doctors said their injuries were extremely serious.
The agents underwent emergency surgery and no further information has been released concerning the state of their health.
Gun crime is rife in poverty-stricken parts of Brazil.
A recent high-profile shooting incident was when Brazilian lawyer Marcus Cezar Feres Braga, 60, gunned down a thief.
Braga was driving on Avenue of the Americas, in Barra da Tijuca, when the robber smashed his car window and pointed a gun at him, demanding he hand over his watch.
He later claimed he was a Russian vice consul after he presented a FAKE Russian consular ID card to police, which the Russian Embassy denied.
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